The invention relates to an actuating means for the head restraint of a vehicle seat, at least part of which head restraint can be shifted from a comfort position into a safety position in the event of an accident, comprising limbs which are expanded from an initial position as a consequence of pressure loading and therefore bring about a lengthening which can be transmitted to force transmission means.
A generic actuating means is disclosed in the publication WO 2006/037801 A1. It consists of four limbs connected to one another in an articulated manner, which are folded in a W-shape and of which the first limb grips the sheath of a Bowden cable and the last limb grips the core of a Bowden cable. In the event of pressure loading acting on the actuating means, running at right angles to the extension of the Bowden cable, the cable attached to the limb is stretched, whereby the angle between the limbs is increased and the core of the Bowden cable is pulled to a specific length out of the sheath of the Bowden cable. This lengthening is transmitted to the drive device of the crash-active head restraint which, for example, may correspond to the embodiment according to WO 2005/097545 A2. The contents of the aforementioned publications expressly form part of the disclosure of the present invention.